One-Third of U.S. Cities See Lower Revenue Due to Housing Slump
Washington, D.C.–Rising home foreclosures have driven revenues down in one-third of American cities in the past year, according to the Washington, D.C.-based National League of Cities.Nearly two-thirds of more than 200 cities said increased foreclosures have caused one out of three to reduce community program funding, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Tuesday. The nonprofit urban municipal association also said that growing demand for food banks and counseling are causing problems.Nonprofit and civic organizations are buffering some of the effects–more so than home lenders, the National League of Cities said.
Fed Doubles Amount It Plans to Lend to Bolster Credit Market
Washington, D.C.–Several of the world’s central banks–including the U.S. Federal Reserve–have announced a joint plan to add liquidity into money markets in North America and Europe, the Financial Times reports.On Friday, the Fed made an emergency intervention to reduce credit market strains. The Fed said this week that it would double the amount it originally had offered to lend, increasing the total by $200 billion. The money will be loaned to banks and primary dealers or brokers who trade with the Fed, which hopes it will be given to hedge funds and other market members who are having a hard…
DEAL OF THE DAY: Diamond Lakes Apartments Sold for $20.1M
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLafayette, La.–Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has arranged the sale of Diamond Lakes Apartments, a 312-unit multifamily community in Lafayette for $20.1 million, at $64,423 per unit.“Diamond Lakes Apartments is a well-maintained multifamily property in a prime location,” says Stephen St. Clair, vice president of investments and director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Multi Housing Group in Orlando, Fla. “The asset generates a reliable cash flow while at the same time possesses an inherent potential for steady rental increases.”Located at 2700 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, the 249,100-sq.-ft. apartment community consists of 16 two-story buildings…
Apartment Sector Remains Strong, Says NMHC Survey
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Conditions in the apartment sector remain strong, according to National Multi Housing Council’s (NMHC) latest Market Trends survey.“Apartment owners exercised great restraint during the housing boom,” notes NMHC chief economist Mark Obrinsky. “As a result, they have escaped the oversupply problems plaguing the single-family sector.”According to NMHC, the number of renters last year in professionally managed apartments increased by the largest amount since 2000. “In fact, the increase was as large as that for the previous five years combined,” says Obrinsky. Prior to that, between 2004 and 2006, 1.2 million households joined the ranks…
Matchmaking Service for Renters and Brokers Launched in New York
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–A newly launched Web site called NYRentClub.com is now offering a real estate service which connects renters to real estate brokers.NYRentClub.com, which was launched on March 1st as a non-beta site, is a community of New Yorkers, on which members can rate and review New York rental brokers and receive personal matches to quality brokers who meet their specific criteria. There is no cost to the renters–in fact, they can get a $50 bonus check when they sign a qualifying lease. Additionally, renters also receive a minimum 20 percent discount off their traditional broker…
Four KTGY Buildings Nominated for Multifamily Pillars Awards
Irvine, Calif.–The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has recognized KTGY Group Inc., an architecture and planning company, as a finalist for four NAHB Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards. The Pillars awards honor superior achievement in apartment and condominium development, design, marketing and management, and are considered a showcase of future trends. College Vista in San Mateo, Calif., a 44-unit apartment community targeting San Mateo’s community college faculty, is a finalist in the category of Best Affordable Apartment Community (40 percent of the units must be affordable to people earning 60 percent or less of area median income). The…
Buildings Department Stops Work on Three NYC Projects
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York—For the second time this year, the New York City Department of Buildings has slapped Trump SoHo’s general contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, with a stop-work order. The latest order is in response to events on Saturday night, when gusts of wind near 50 mph sent a loose chain crashing into the side of the 46-story Trump SoHo tower, cracking windows on three floors and showering the street with glass.The company has been cited for not securing the chain that had been used to hoist windows. Bovis was cited for building code violations at the…
Electronics Sales Suffer from Slow Housing Market
Port Washington, N.Y.–The real estate slump is hurting consumer electronic sales, according to USA Today.Traditionally, electronic sales have fared well in downturns. Yet nearly every area in the U.S. where consumers were purchasing fewer TVs, digital cameras and other electronics also had a decline in home prices in the fourth quarter of 2007, a new study from Port Washington, N.Y.-based research firm NPD says. Sacramento, Phoenix, Tampa and Detroit were the four urban areas with the largest electronics spending decreases, compared with 2006. The cities were also part of the top 10 major markets for drops in home prices, according…
Potential Investigation Calls Bank of America’s Plan to Employ Countrywide Exec Into Question
Charlotte, N.C.–Bank of America’s offer to appoint a top Countrywide executive to oversee mortgage business is likely to come under fire this week as reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is in the early stages of investigating Countrywide are released, according to the Financial Times.Countrywide president and chief operating officer David Sambol is scheduled to assume mortgage-division duties once Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America’s $4 billion takeover of Countrywide is complete.Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has asked Bank of America to reassess the offer because he feels the mortgage lender’s business model was a “main contributor” to the mortgage crisis.This…
Countrywide, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch CEOs Testify At Congressional Hearing
Washington, D.C.–The CEOs of three companies heavily involved in the subprime mortgage market spoke to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about the housing market on Friday. CEO compensation–which has risen from 40 times what the average worker made to 600 times in recent years–also came under fire, ABC News reports.Countrywide Financial chairman and chief executive officer Angelo Mozilo, former Merrill Lynch CEO E. Stanley O’Neal and former chairman and CEO of Citigroup Charles Prince did not claim any responsibility for the current housing slump. All three said the housing boom had provided many Americans with a unique…